Expert Criticizes Alterations in Iraq's Budget Bill, Warns Against Violating Kurdistan's Entitlements

Shafaq News/ Legal expert Salem Hawas vehemently denounced the recent amendments made to Iraq's General Budget Bill by the parliamentary finance committee, particularly those pertaining to the Kurdistan Region's entitlements, labeling them a contravention of the agreements inked between Baghdad and Erbil.

"Changes affecting the budget and the region's rights are inconsistent with established agreements," Hawas told Shafaq News Agency, "adherence to the political accord of the State Administration Coalition is paramount for the safety and stability of Iraq, and has been the cornerstone of the political process in Iraq since 2003, aiming for a better future for the country and all its components."

Hawas said that deviation from consensus and the pursuit of infringing upon rights and agreements outside the constitution could only yield disappointment and sour the harmony of political stability upon which the state was built.

He entreated the political factions to "commit to the agreements to avert sparking new legal and constitutional crises, which the country can ill afford."

The legal expert explained, "the Parliamentary Legal Committee has completed the legal drafting of the budget items and forwarded them to the Financial Committee. Thus, the latter is undoubtedly waiting for political blocs' consensus to settle disputes before initiating the voting process in the House of Representatives. This necessitates honoring commitments and promises made with the region."

"Political concord among the blocs, which has been and continues to be the basis for passing significant laws, including the budget, should be revived after the budget's approval," he concluded, "All parties must measure up to serving the Iraqi people, distancing themselves from the quota system based on agreements and promises that contravene the constitution and return to its implementation."